Smarter Than You Think I Look
by Charmeleon2012
Summary: I'm at an absolute loss for a title. Varrick makes Asami admit what he already knew for a while. Korrasami one-shot. Varrick and Asami friendship is my lifeblood.


"So, you and the Avatar, huh?" The raven-haired engineer jumped up and dropped the wrench she was holding, nearly crushing her foot in the act.

"Excuse me?" She whirled on the man working next to her, nostrils flaring. He raised his hands defensively.

"Whoa, hey, Asami! Calm down, it was just a question."

"What are you talking about, Varrick?" The man himself gave Asami a sidelong glance.

"Ooh, did you not know?" Varrick whistled. "Awkward." Asami glowered at him.

"Look, I don't know where you heard that, but-"

"Listen lady," Varrick interrupted, "the only thing I hear is the sound of your heart beating faster at the very mention of your true love!" He waved a hand dismissively. "Plus, you know, you two have been spending a lot of time together." Asami could only stare at him. "What? Alright, I'll admit it, it was a wild guess. But I've hit not too far out of the ballpark, haven't I?"

"That's none of your concern," Asami growled, crouching down and returning to her work. She still wasn't quite over the fact that Varrick almost put her company out of business. The entrepreneur snorted back at her, but didn't say anything else. They worked in silence for a few minutes.

"She doesn't know." It was Asami who spoke. Varrick looked down at her with a baffled expression.

"She doesn't? Wow, that's a shock!" He put his hands on his hips. "I'd swear to Zhu Li she seemed just as into it as you are."

"What do you mean?" Asami stood up to face Varrick, abandoning her work temporarily.

"What do I mean?" Varrick threw up his hands dramatically. "Spirits! No wonder it hasn't happened yet! You two are clueless!" Asami opened her mouth to speak, but the man put a finger to her lips. "No, you are. Listen up, Asami, because I'm about to tell you something very important. Something that's going to change your entire life for the better." The raven-haired girl raised a brow.

"Fine. Lay it on me."

"Korra. Likes. You." Varrick made wide vertical gestures with his arms with each word. Asami's eyes widened.

"She does?"

"She does?" He mocked her. Varrick gripped Asami's shoulders and shook her. "Of course she does!" He released the girl, who stared at him for a moment before a downcast expression settled onto her face.

"You don't know that for sure."

"I d- you know what, I don't know that for sure." Varrick placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently this time. "But I can guess." Asami looked away from him.

"I guess that's my question. How do you guess?"

"How do I guess?" Varrick scratched his chin. "Well, mostly it's the way she looks at you. As a successful mover director, I know how two people have to look at each other so the audience believes they're absolutely, totally in love. Well, you two have more of that chemistry than all of my best mover stars combined." Asami blushed at that.

"How else did you know?"

"Asami, I know you and your friends have been in some tight places now and again, and I'm going to assume since you're standing here and not lying worse for wear out in the middle of nowhere, chances are you've had your butt saved once or twice by these friends of yours. I can only assume Korra was your butt-saver at some point." Somehow this made Asami blush more.

"She would do the same for all of us."

"Sure, sure, but that's proof enough she cares about you. Trust me, Asami! A girl who'll hijack a giant robot and lay down her life to protect you from angry tyrant war mongrels is a girl you want to keep in your life and hold dear to your heart!"

"Wait, what?" Asami put a hand on her hip. "Varrick, that never happened."

"It didn't?" The man leaned heavily on the flying machine. "Right. Well. Forget I said that."

"Okay." The Sato heiress crouched down to resume her work. "You may be right, anyway. I shouldn't be afraid to find out." She paused. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Varrick replied.

They continued working for a while, Asami tinkering silently while Varrick muttered constantly to himself. The engineer couldn't make out most of what he said, but there was one name she picked up frequently before she finally intervened.

"So, you and Zhu-Li, huh?" Asami asked gently.

"That's none of your concern," Varrick replied without malice. They were quiet again for a few moments.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The entrepreneur gave her a curious look. Then he sighed.

"When I was a boy, I had an ostrich-horse named Mrs. Beaks."


End file.
